PORT ORCHARD - The city of Port Orchard and Mayor Lary Coppola have reached a temporary agreement on condemnation of property the mayor owns along the Tremont Corridor.

The city plans a major upgrade to the road that includes widening and adding roundabouts. One of the roundabouts will be at the intersection of Tremont Street and Pottery Avenue, where Coppola and his wife Dee have a publishing business, Wet Apple Media.

City officials have negotiated with other property owners along the corridor on right-of-way acquisition and have reached agreements on 94 percent of properties affected by the project. The city hopes to secure all right-of-way by the end of the year to qualify for federal and state road construction funding that requires "shovel ready" projects.

City councilman Jim Colebank also owns property on Tremont and is still negotiating with the city on a price for the 22-foot deep portion of his property. Both the mayor and Colebank have recused themselves from all discussions involving the Tremont Corridor project.

The city hired an appraiser certified by the state Department of Transportation to determine fair values for all Tremont properties to be condemned. Funding for right-of-way acquisition was secured through the state Department of Transportation. The city will be reimbursed for 86.5 percent of settlement costs.

In Coppola's case, the city needs practically the whole lot.

The mayor's publishing office is a 1962 split-level with detached garage, valued by the Kitsap County Assessor's Office at $332,210. The city's contract appraiser valued the property at $457,000. But Coppola believes it is worth more, City Attorney Greg Jacoby told the City Council on Tuesday.

Coppola's appraiser values the property between $620,000 and $640,000, the mayor said Wednesday via email.

The city and Coppola expect to reach an agreement on a fair price, Jacoby said, but in order not to stall the right-of-way process, the two parties have entered into a temporary "possession and use" agreement. Under terms of the agreement — unanimously approved by the council minus Colebank — the city pays Coppola the $457,000 and takes possession of the property.

Although work on the property is not expected to begin during the two-year term of the agreement, the city can now say it has secured the right of way needed for the roundabout. Coppola remains responsible for property taxes, which total $3,592 in 2011.

The city can use the property however it wants but is not yet the legal owner. Coppola has asked to lease back a 1,000-square-foot portion of the building, essentially leasing his own property. The council, in a separate motion, agreed to the lease at an annual $12 a square foot, or $12,000 a year. The city could lease out the rest of the building or use it for storage. Coppola would pay for his share of utilities.

Councilman Fred Chang voted against the lease measure. Having a portion of the building occupied could make it less attractive to prospective renters, Chang said. He would have been fine with Coppola renting the whole 2,716-square-foot building.

In a third motion related to the Coppola property, the council turned the matter over to the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office.

"This is being done so there's no conflict of interest, no appearance of impropriety," Jacoby said.

The city and Coppola will keep negotiating on "fair and just" compensation. The final agreement will be approved in Kitsap County Superior Court.

"It's trying to keep the process as open and transparent and unbiased as we can," said Mayor Pro Tem John Clauson, who filled in for Coppola during discussion of the Tremont-related measures.

Coppola knew long before he was elected that the Tremont project would affect his property, but according to the mayor, the city was not clear early on about how much land would be needed. Plans later were revised, and the roundabouts re-engineered.

"All we wanted to know was, 'How much of our property is the city going to take, and where will it be measured from?'" Coppola said. "However, once the council made the decision to move forward with expanding the roundabout, it became clear that my building sat right smack in the middle of one of the travel lanes."

That was after Coppola decided to run for mayor, a decision that stemmed from frustration he experienced seeking a rezone for the property, which he previously intended to remodel. The process took 19 months, he said.

Coppola has been careful to separate his personal interest in the project from his job as mayor.

"I have had absolutely no involvement in any of the decisions that led to either the re-engineering of the project or the purchase of right of way. In fact, I have intentionally been kept in the dark about just about all of it," he said.

Coppola is willing to work with the city on a resolution and approves having Kitsap County prosecutors handle the matter. But moving his business for the road would not be his first choice.

"We did not want to sell, and being forced to has actually thrown an economic monkey wrench into our future plans," Coppola said.

The council also approved a settlement agreement on a property owned by an elderly woman who cares for her disabled adult daughter. The woman was concerned that noise, dust and vibration from construction could harm her daughter, who is frail and easily sickened.

According to Jacoby, the woman asked for $30,000 to make upgrades to the house that would muffle the sound and filter the air. The woman in turn agreed to hold the city harmless for any effects of road construction she or her daughter might experience. The council unanimously approved the agreement.